The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Pinball Machine Announced

The pinball industry is experiencing a resurgence. In addition to the large-scale operations of the the leading manufacturers Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball, a few high-end boutique manufacturers have stepped into the spotlight.

Dutch Pinball, based in the Netherlands with a distribution division located in the U.S. announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement with Universal Pictures to bring the cult classic film, The Big Lebowski, to pinball players world wide.

Following a guerrilla marketing campaign at this year's Pinball Expo held each October in Chicago, IL, an email was distributed this morning teasing a major announcement located on DudePinball.com, which now redirects to TheBigLebowskiPinball.com and highlights a new teaser trailer for the upcoming release:

Even cooler? According to the website, "We are forever indebted to Mr. Jeff Bridges for bringing “The Dude” to life, and to express our gratitude, Dutch Pinball will donate $25 from the sale of each The Big Lebowski™ Pinball machine to the No Kid Hungry / Share our Strength Campaign and help him in the fight against childhood hunger."

No news yet on what the machine will actually look like, but Dutch Pinball does confirm that this will be an actual arcade-quality machine using industry standard Bally/Williams parts. Estimated delivery will take place in Q2 of 2015. Purchase price will be $8,500 with an initial $1,000 down payment. It may be a high price to pay, but no doubt it will really tie the room together.